By Neil Versel

Dr. David Blumenthal has been national coordinator for health information technology for a little more than six months now, and for all the health IT meetings I go to, teleconferences I listen in on and webinars I participate in, Wednesday was the first time I’d had the opportunity to hear him speak.

In delivering the opening keynote to the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Fall CIO Forum in Indian Wells, Calif., Blumenthal didn’t break a whole lot of new ground, but he did bring the national EMR strategy into sharper focus, give an update on some progress within the federal government, demonstrate his deep passion for healthcare quality improvement, and even put the vendor community on notice. (See the story in this week’s issue for more on his vendor-related comments.)

“You all are the very core of our success,” Blumenthal told this gathering of CIOs in the California desert. It was nothing they didn’t already know. He did say, however, that even without the healthcare reform being debated in Washington right now, the HITECH Act–the health IT portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act–still is “unprecedented” in the scope of change it will effect.

Blumenthal highlighted four things that flow from HITECH: “meaningful use” of EMRs–something we all know about; the Health IT Policy Committee and Health IT Standards Committee to advise HHS; privacy and security of health data, symbolized by the tightening of HIPAA; and, of course, the federal subsidy program. Blumenthal believes that the last point probably gets more attention than it deserves. “There’s the money, which is important, but it isn’t the whole thing,” he said.

“What Congress has basically asked us to do with this legislation is to change the practice of medicine,” Blumenthal said. “It’s really a matter of change management rather than technology.”

Blumenthal is prohibited by federal ethics standards from discussing deliberations on the forthcoming parameters for meaningful use, but he reiterated that a proposed rule will be out by the end of the year, and that HHS is still on target to finalize the definition next spring, following a 60-day public comment period on the proposal. He also said that his office is talking with other federal agencies with experience encrypting and securing sensitive electronic data, something that will be hugely important in healthcare as more patient information is computerized.

Blumenthal added that the health IT extension centers will be modeled after the long-established USDA Agricultural Extension Service. “This is all about technology transfer from government to industry,” he said. He also called on the hundreds of healthcare CIOs in attendance to provide leadership and educate hospital CEOs about the importance of

Above article published on http://www.fierceemr.com/story/blumenthal-doesnt-tip-hand-meaningful-use-highlights-non-financial-aspects-arra/2009-10-29#ixzz0WdXFxKVB

By: Roy Mark

While the Obama administration’s drive to dramatically increase health IT spending portends a financial bonanza for vendors, the boom will not come without risks, says Input.

The U.S. health IT market is set for disruptive change, predicts a report by Input released Sept. 10. The key drivers of the change will occur “as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and national health care legislation increase the need for innovative health care technology that also reduces costs,” according to Input’s statement. Compounding the change will be the addition of the baby boomers to the swelling ranks of Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

“As the federal government begins analyzing the data collected through EHR [electronic health records] systems, a wide array of new health care IT market opportunities will emerge for vendors,” Tim Dowd, Input’s CEO, said in the statement. “This includes companies supplying health information systems, decision support automation, data warehousing, data mining tools and middleware to connect EHRs to regional information exchange organizations and other internal systems.”

According to Input, the federal budget combined with the deficit “will drive growth opportunities in the health care IT market as technology offers the ability to dramatically cut health care costs. Simultaneously, the stimulus package is setting the groundwork for the next stages of IT investment by making $2 billion available for the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC). Input’s research also predicts that the Obama administration’s push for greater adoption of … [EHR] systems will open up adjacent IT market opportunities.”

Disruptive change, though, also brings risks, among them possible public and provider backlash over “the costs of buying and maintaining systems, and training staff to manage and oversee a new federal health care program; … the additional work needed to ensure security and privacy of data, since it will be transferred among different providers; and … building IT systems that track health outcomes to satisfy the federal government’s desired method of compensating providers,” Input said in its statement.

“The Obama administration’s efforts to forge ahead with an aggressive health care IT improvement plan are not without their challenges,” Dowd said. “Whatever form the country’s health care reform legislation ultimately takes, it will create the need for more technology innovation, which will require planning and insight to remain ahead of the curve.”

Input predicts that U.S. state and local government health organizations will increase their investments in health IT systems and services from $7.6 billion in 2009 to $9.6 billion by 2014.

Above article published on

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/Disruptive-Change-Predicted-for-Health-IT-Market-481673/

By Asrat Kebede

Nearly $1.2 billion in economic stimulus law funds are now available as grants for health information technology, Vice President Joe Biden announced today. About half of the funding will go to establish dozens of regional education centers across the country, and the other half will help state agencies set up health information exchange systems.

Congress approved the funding as part of the economic stimulus law to promote the adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems. Lawmakers included $45 billion in incentive payments to doctors’ offices and hospitals that buy and meaningfully use digital health records, and $2 billion to promote health information exchange.

The Health and Human Services Department will issue rulemaking later this year to define the terms of certification and meaningful use.

“With electronic health records, we are making health care safer; we’re making it more efficient; we’re making you healthier; and we’re saving money along the way, ” Biden said in a statement today.

Grants totaling $598 million will be used to get 70 Health IT Regional Extension Centers up and running. The centers will give hands-on help to doctors and hospital staff in selecting, acquiring and deploying certified EHR systems.

An additional $564 million in grants is available to states to support the development of mechanisms for sharing of patient medical information within a framework of an “emerging nationwide system of networks,” the statement said.

Both sets of grants will be issued starting in fiscal 2010. The extension program grants will be awarded on a rolling basis: 20 in the first quarter of the fiscal year, 25 in the third quarter, and the remainder in the fourth quarter.

HHS will dedicate $50 million to creating the Health IT Research Centers will help the regional extension center identify and share best practices and collaborate with each other, the statement said.

The centers together will support at least 100,000 primary care providers, through participating nonprofit organizations, in achieving meaningful use of EHRs, the statement said.

The health information exchange grants will be awarded through the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program. States may choose to enter multistate arrangements. State agencies will be required to provide matching funds starting in 2011.

A group sponsored by the National Governors Association recently advised state agencies to begin their planning on health information exchanges, which will be required to achieve meaningful use of digital health records.

Above article published on

http://www.ethiopianreview.com/scitech/1620